One of the most important nutrients that you should have in a healthy diet is dietary fiber. Ordinarily we try to consume fat and carbohydrates and the war between the low-fat foods and the low-carb foods. Protein doesn’t really get a look in either, but then we all understand that we need something like this to stay healthy and unless you are a vegetarian then it is simple enough to get protein from any meat you eat. Yet fiber, which will provide you with a wide range of health benefits but also helps you to feel full for longer periods of time so you eat less at mealtimes, is rarely mentioned. You have to also try to exercise like on an fitness machine.
Dietary Fiber
Dietary fiber is essentially a combination of non-digestible carbs, and other plant parts like wax and pectin,which are not broken down inside your stomach. When it is inside your tummy, it helps you to feel full — so you aren’t eating as much other food, but when it moves to your colon, the two different kinds of fiber come into play. Let’s look closely at each of them:
Soluble Fiber
Soluble fiber really breaks down inside of the colon and ferments. When it does this, it discharges short-chain fatty acids that contain a number of of health benefits — like stabilizing blood sugar levels, reducing LDL cholesterol levels inside of the blood, stimulating production of immune cells, increasing acidity inside of your colon increasing absorption , protecting the mucosal layer of the colon, and much more. This fiber also traps carbohydrates when it absorbs water and turns into a gel, slowing the minerals being absorbed into the blood stream, and assisting in preventing bile acids from going into the blood stream (thus lowering cholesterol levels).
Insoluble Fiber
Insoluble: This is the type that stays intact, and is what many individuals think about when they are talking about fiber – because it is the part that provides bulk in your stools (and because it absorbs water, it softens them too). Both of those actions will help you to keep regular and avoid constipation. Also think about the benefits of elliptical exercise machines to stay fit.
You can now clearly see that dietary fiber extends to you a wide range of health benefits, and must be a part of most meals. The recommended daily intake is about 20 – 35g of fiber per day. Of course, according to Wikipedia, on average many North Americans eat less than half of this amount, with some people merely eating up 20% of the recommended quantity.
In order to get more fiber into your diet, start buying the whole wheat versions of pasta and bread (which you should be doing anyway as it lets go of its energy a great deal slower) which contain a great deal more fiber in them. Also, aim to eat up more nuts, seeds, beans, vegetables and fruit, and whenever possible, keep the skins on things when you consume them. Use a elliptical machine buying guide to help you find something great to work out with.
